Sylieth
Race: Tiefling
Class: Cleric (Life Domain)
Background: Urchin
Faith: Ilmater (non-native to Iridia)
Origin: The City of Or
Current Location: Strixhaven University (via planar transfer)
Appearance
Sylieth is a young Tiefling with light violet skin marked faintly by infernal sigils, glowing subtly when channeling divine magic. Their golden-brown eyes flicker softly with the emberlight of something deeper—suffering endured, pain shouldered, and a will unbroken. Their shoulder-length hair, a soft lilac hue, is slightly messy but swept naturally to frame their face.
Their build is lean, with an androgynous but slightly masculine frame. Black horns curl downward from the upper sides of their head, and a long, slender tail follows behind them like a quiet echo. Sylieth wears a flowing cleric’s robe with subtle celestial and infernal embroidery in gold thread, and tucked beneath their sleeve is a simple, frayed red thread—always touching skin.
Personality
Sylieth is quiet, calm, and observant—someone who speaks softly but listens deeply. Despite their youth, they carry themselves with the gravity of someone who has seen too much and chosen to be kind anyway. They flinch at raised voices but never retreat from pain—not their own, not anyone else's.
“I take the pain.
Bind the wound, still the soul.
Ilmater, walk with me.”
— Sylieth’s quick prayer
They tend to avoid the spotlight, offering comfort and aid while fading into the background. When someone grieves, Sylieth simply stays. When someone bleeds, they kneel without hesitation.
Early Life
Sylieth was not born into love or safety. Their earliest memories are of stone, steam vents, and the hum of Or’s underbelly. No record of their parents exists; no name, no cradle—only survival. They scraped by as an urchin in the City of Or, learning to run errands, vanish in crowds, and listen when others forgot they were near.
Eventually, they began working for Dottie Copperlocks, a paranoid dwarven researcher who operated from the back of a third-hand bookshop known as The Inkblot Bindery. Dottie never trusted anyone, but she tolerated Sylieth’s presence and made use of their silence and speed.
That life changed the day Sylieth dropped a bottle near The Brazen Burp.
The Turning Point
Caught mid-escape, Sylieth expected to be punished. Instead, they met Miss Terry, the jolly Tiefling bard known for her sharp wit and enormous heart. She didn’t scold. She simply extended her hand and offered a kindness Sylieth didn’t know how to refuse.
Miss Terry brought them to Brother Ienor, the compassionate and strikingly handsome elven healer who led The Red Palm Hall. The monks there didn’t treat Sylieth as a nuisance—they offered rest, food, work, and dignity. They gave Sylieth a name, and in time, a purpose.
It was here that Sylieth’s divine connection awakened—not to a god of Iridia, but to Ilmater, a deity from beyond the plane. Through a frayed red thread—once part of a bandage, now a sacred tether—Sylieth felt the presence of Ilmater for the first time. A god of suffering, endurance, and compassion. A god who understood them.
Belief and Purpose
Sylieth follows Ilmater not through doctrine, but through action. They bind wounds, absorb pain, and offer comfort with quiet resolve. They do not believe they are worthy of the comfort they give—but they offer it anyway.
They now walk between worlds: a Tiefling of the street, a healer of the Hall, and a cleric marked by a god no one else remembers. And though they rarely speak of it, the weight they carry is not just theirs—it belongs to all who cannot bear their own.
They will bear it. That is the vow.
Known Allies
- Miss Terry – Tiefling bard who first showed Sylieth compassion.
- Brother Ienor – Dignified and deeply kind elven healer who became a mentor.
- Dottie Copperlocks – Paranoid dwarven researcher who unwittingly gave Sylieth their first role in the world.
Symbolic Artifact
The Binding Thread – A frayed red cord, tied once and worn beneath Sylieth’s sleeve. It is worthless to anyone else, but sacred to them. It warms when they heal, tightens when they carry too much, and returns to them when lost. It is their connection to Ilmater—quiet, constant, and unbreakable.